This is the phenomenal appearance of seemingly solid objects or
spirit forms out of thin air. The Eastern adepts who has mastered the siddhis
("miraculous powers") are said to possess the ability to materialize
objects. Sai Babe of India was renowned for his ability to materialize objects
such as food, precious gems, vibuti "holy ash," and other religious
objects.

In Western occultism materialization reached the height of its popularity
during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when occurring in mediumship
of Spiritualism. Such objects, called apports,
which commonly materialized during séances included vases, coins,
flowers, and musical instruments. Luminous and phantom-like objects, animal
and human spirits also appeared. Some mediums also made objects and themselves,
or parts of themselves, disappear.

For the true Spiritualist, all such phenomena were part of the religion,
and were believed. But, everyone who witnessed a séance was not orthodox
Spiritualists. Skeptics did attend the séances that were held in
darkened and secluded rooms. Such rooms, as some suspected, made it to easy
to conceal wires, trap doors, and other apparatus, as well as provide a
cover for surreptitious movement. Not only did the darkness make some suspicious,
it was thought to heighten the imagination of others; if one expected to
see a spirit emerge from the dark, there was a good chance that one would
do so. It should be noted, too, this was the time of Victorian etiquette
that prevented a thorough searching of the medium's personage, and required
observance of the medium's requests. The medium usually left the room first
following the séance requesting all remain seated for several minutes.

However, fraudulent instances were discovered. Such discoveries are recorded
throughout the history of Spiritualism and gave it somewhat of a seedy reputation.
One of the famous mediums was D. Home who was suspected of being fraudulent,
but was never proven guilty. Helena
Petrovna Blavatsky was another medium. A.G.H.